This page is a compendium of items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, damnable prevarications, rants and amusing anecdotes - about LAUSD and/or public education that didn't - or haven't yet - made it into the "real" 4LAKids blog and weekly e-newsletter at http://www.4LAKids.blogspot.com . 4LAKidsNews will be updated at arbitrary random intervals.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

STATE EDUCATION CHIEFS PONDER ESSA

12/23/2015 10:00 AM EDT :: STATE CHIEFS PONDER ESSA:
State education chiefs have been combing through the Every Student
Succeeds Act and there's a lot they'd like more clarity on -
particularly about the new, pared-back role of the federal government.
Some chiefs are excited about the new wiggle room and fewer federal
constraints. But others worry that it might allow states to backslide
when it comes to holding schools and districts accountable for student
performance. Washington Superintendent Randy Dorn said Congress' move to
diminish the education secretary's power was purely political. And
Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester said it's "clearly
a reaction" to the last seven years, which include waivers from No
Child
Left Behind and competitive grant programs like Race to the Top that
pushed states to adopt a confluence of reforms, like higher academic
standards and more rigorous tests. "The federal role going forward needs
to be sorted out," Chester said. "I think it's yet to be determined how
much leeway states will have ... For example, the bill calls for
'ambitious' academic standards, so how exactly will the federal
government determine whether states are meeting that requirement?"

- Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius wondered
how much back and forth there'll be between states and the feds
over things like new state accountability plans, now that states have
more authority to make decisions and set goals. Chester argued that
spats between states and the federal government over different parts of
the bill would actually be a good thing. "I worry that if we look ahead a
few years and there are no disputes between feds and the states, that
it's a signal that anything goes," he said. "That's going to be the big
question going forward." But Alabama Superintendent Tommy Bice said it's
"insulting to think that we need a federal watchdog ... Our own state
accountability system is much more robust than what was
required. I don't have any fear that we'll backslide."

- Both outgoing Education Secretary Arne Duncan and his successor, John King, have
made clear that the department will use its full regulatory powers to
ensure states won't backtrack on the progress they've made.